Times Union Staff Photo-- Michael P. Farrell --Albany , New York -- 9/04/2008 -- jan howard finder , (he spells his name in lowercase) is a Chicago Cubs fan who attended at six years old the 1945 MLB Worls Series the last time the Cubs apppeared. ( w/ Iorizzo story) less

Times Union Staff Photo-- Michael P. Farrell --Albany , New York -- 9/04/2008 -- jan howard finder , (he spells his name in lowercase) is a Chicago Cubs fan who attended at six years old the 1945 MLB Worls ... more

ALBANY — Jan Howard Finder was the sort of meandering spirit who was passionate, primarily, about being passionate and swore by happy cliches such as "Life is short; eat dessert first!"

He was the ultimate fan, crisscrossing the country and globe to attend science fiction conventions or to visit the New Zealand filming locations of "Lord of the Rings." He had traveled the entire length of Route 66 on more than one occasion, and probably visited all its museums.

Early Tuesday morning, Finder, 73, died from complications related to prostate cancer after battling the disease for eight years.

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Finder spent his own career as a career counselor, including for the Army at Fort Drum, but invested nearly as much energy in his many interests and hobbies.

A Chicago native, Finder settled in Albany in the 1970s after working for several years in western Europe.

He was a regular on the sci-fi convention circuit, where he and Daniel met and fell in love.

In 1993, he was named the "Fan Guest of Honor" at the 52nd annual World Science Fiction Convention in San Francisco – an honor solidifying his place in the ranks of fan culture.

An ardent J.R.R. Tolkien fan, Finder also organized the Conference on Middle-earth, an event at which fellow fans presented papers or joined panel discussions about the author, his works and his influence.

The fourth conference is slated for March 2014.

Friends affectionately called him "The Wombat." (The origin is mysterious, but the name fit, those friends said, so it stuck.)

Finder had suffered a long and complicated battle with cancer, though one that did not diminish his zeal.

A lover of things both fast and red, when his cancer began to progress, Finder bought a cherry-red Corvette and drove it across the country.

"He figured he didn't need so much retirement savings anymore," said Daniel.

Finder was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2004. After surgery and radiation therapy didn't quite kill the cancer, chemotherapy appeared to be working. Daniel said that Finder was switched to a new drug in January after chemotherapy stopped working as well, but he appeared to have an adverse reaction to the new treatment regimen. He was hospitalized on Saturday, suffering from kidney and liver failure. He passed away on Tuesday after a sudden, fatal drop in blood pressure.

Only hours after his death was announced, Finder's Facebook page carried hundreds of messages and fond memories from around the world.

"Here's another unmendable hole in the fabric of fandom," said one friend.